Ever Ever After
by notdonewithyou
Summary: A collection of short Captain Swan stories with appearances from other characters being all shippery. They're mostly ones from Tumblr that I've just neglected to post.
1. Seeking Solace

"Teach me how to sail."

The voice came from the steps leading up to the helm, surprising Hook. Looking down from his position behind the wheel, he could see Emma peeking her head up. "What was that, lass?"

Emma sighed, climbing up the rest of the stairs before standing right next to him. "I'm going stir crazy down there with my parents, I can't stop thinking about Henry, and I need something to distract me before my head explodes, so," she said, placing her hand on of the wheel's pegs, "teach me how to sail."

Hook knew she'd almost worried herself to death the first night they were there, and it had only gotten worse with the passing days without a lead to finding Henry. Stepping back away from it, Hook offered the wheel to her. "Be my guest."

Emma moved over, gripping the pegs of the wheel tightly, her knuckles turning white, and Hook laughed. "You're going to bloody break those if you hold onto them like that." Standing behind her, bringing his hand up to hers, he lessened her grip on the peg. "You're an extension of the ship, and she's an extension of you. Now," he said, bringing his mouth to her ear, "take her one notch starboard."

"And starboard is right?" Emma asked, going that direction anyway, her eyes falling closed at his voice in her ear.

"Aye, that it is." His hand trailed up from covering her to moving her hair from her shoulder, placing a small kiss on the newly exposed skin. "Now, why did you _really_ come out here?"

Emma sighed. He didn't even have to look at her to read her like the open book she was. Turning around, she looked him in the eye, before taking his face in her hands and kissing him soundly. "I want to forget."


	2. Through the Fire

The flames flared up in front of Hook, blocking his view of Henry, causing him to raise his arms to block the sudden surge of heat. "Henry! Lad, we need to know where they're keeping you," Hook yelled over the flames. "The fairies told us of the sleeping curse."

"Where's my mom?" Henry yelled, confused as to why he was seeing Hook.

"I wouldn't allow your mother to come in here, but I promised we'd find you," Hook said, offering Henry a small smile. "And I don't break my promises."

"But you need True Love's kiss to…" Henry dropped off, looking up at the pirate, surprised etched on his face.

Hook let out a small laugh as the flames went down a bit. "We were all just as shocked." The flames reared up once more, both he and Henry letting out a yell. "She's waking me up soon. I need to know where they kept you last."

"The tree at the center of the island!" Henry yelled back. "That's where they put me under the sleeping curse again!"

Hook sighed as he felt the beginning swirls of being pulled from the Netherworld. "We're coming to get you, Henry. Just hang on!"

Emma pulled back from Hook's lips as he gasped, his eyes shooting open. Shock still filled her at the fact that she'd been able to wake him, the idea of having a True Love all still new to her. With his face still in her hands, she looked down at him, searching his eyes. "Well?"

Hook sat up, his hand coming up to rest on hers. "They put him under at the Lost Ones hideout. So, that's where we start."


	3. Family

"Daddy…" Killian heard, whispered into his slumbering ears. There was a pull on his blanket, and he did his best to ignore it. But then he heard the small voice again. "Daddy."

Killian mumbled something he was sure was some kind of affirmation before turning over in the bed. His tired eyes met a similar pair of blue ones, fear lacing them. "What is it, Abigail?"

"The ship's making noises, and…" She stopped talking for a moment before holding up her teddy bear. "And Jolly's scared and wanted to know if we could sleep with you and Mommy."

Killian sighed but smiled sleepily. This wouldn't be the first time 'Jolly' had gotten scared of the ship creaking in the night. "And Jolly's sure she can't sleep on her own tonight?"

The little girl shook her head vigorously. "She's really scared, Daddy."

Motioning with his head, Killian held out his arms for her to climb into. "Well, get up here, you two. Let's try not to wake Mum up."

The little girl clamored up into the bed, climbing over her father's chest and settling in between him and her mother. As he turned, Abigail snuggled into Killian's chest. With a smile on his face, Killian ran his fingers through his daughter's hair until both were sound asleep once more.


	4. Childhood

"What about that one?" Emma asked, pointing in the general direction of his face.

"What one?"

"That one," she said, reaching over and lightly touching the scar that adorned his cheek. They'd been talking about scars all evening, comparing them to each other's to see who had the worst one. Hook had already won with a nasty gash to his side that had nearly killed him.

"Oh, that…" He ran his finger along it, remembering his long since forgotten past. "I was a child, barely up to my father's hip. I'd watch him occasionally trim the scruff from his face. And when I was young, I wanted nothing more to be just like him. So, one day I gave it a go, and," he made a cutting motion across his cheek, "there you have it."

Emma couldn't help but laugh at the whole thing. "Oh, my God. That's actually really adorable. Which I never thought I'd be saying about you," she said, unable to wipe the smile from her face. She was seeing new sides to Hook every day, and they were all starting to grow on her.


	5. Dreams

Hook doesn't notice at first, when his dreams started to change. He'd had the same nightmares for centuries, reliving Milah dying in his arms and him being unable to do anything about it as she took her last breath.

Then one night, he realized it was no longer Milah's face. The person he was holding was a faceless person, with lighter hair than Milah's, he was sure. Slowly, her face started to fill in where it hadn't been before. The most beautiful green eyes he'd ever seen, pale complexion, supple red lips.

When he realized it was Emma, his heart broke every time he had to endure seeing her in the place of Milah. Not just because he had to watch her die, but because he was beginning to forget what Milah looked like. But the longer he dreamed of Emma, the more he knew there was something about her that Milah never was.

Then, slowly, Emma stopped dying. Instead her eyes would shoot open while she gasped for air. And he realized he'd been kissing her, saving her with True Love's kiss. And her smile would shine so bright, it was like the sun finally shining on his life for once.

Waking her up faded from the dreams, too, and for the first time in centuries, he slept through the night, darkness no longer plaguing his mind in the night. His dreams were filled with images of kisses and children's laughter and wedding bells and _her_.

He knew while they were in Neverland, she'd be devoted to finding Henry. But the moment she allowed it, he knew he'd no longer have to close his eyes to see his dreams.


	6. Cookies

"Batch number 10," Emma said, setting down the tray of cookies between the two men. She'd volunteered their services when she decided she needed to at least try to hone her baking skills, since they were pretty lacking. With how excited she seemed to try her hand at it, they couldn't exactly bring themselves to say no to her.

David reached out his hand hesitantly, still slightly queasy after the ninth batch. Looking to Killian, who was eyeing his cookie like it might attack him. "Over the lips and past the gums," he muttered as he bit into it.

Killian bit into his as well, trying to keep his face from betraying the flavors that coursed through his mouth. "I think," he started, looking up at Emma with the best smile he could muster, "it could do with less salt."

David could only nod, not trusting himself to say anything. After Emma smiled at them and turned away, he reached for the nearest napkin, spitting the cookie into the napkin and downing the rest of his glass of milk. "Can you get food poisoning from this?"

Killian mustered the strength to swallow the bite before making the face he'd wanted to since the cookie had hit his tongue. "Something tells me we'll be the first to find out." Giving David's shoulder a slap, he couldn't help but laugh. "It was nice knowing you, mate."


	7. Can't Fault Me

Emma fanned the dishtowel at the smoke alarm furiously, trying her damnedest to get the stupid thing to shut up. She could still here the random sprays of the fire extinguisher coming from the kitchen as Henry yelled, "I think I got it all." Accompanied by another spray and a, "Nevermind!" She sent a short glare toward the pirate, standing with his hang clasped around his hooked wrist, waiting for her to finish.

"I can do that if your arms are tiring, love," Killian suggested, taking a step toward her.

Emma pursed her lips together as she turned to him again, hands on her hips as she stepped down from the chair. Holding out the towel for him, she moved out of his way. "Are you sure it won't 'just catch fire', too?"

Killian took the towel, taking her place on the chair, fanning at the white circle on the wall. "I did say I was sorry," he pointed out.

"And I said, 'Don't touch the appliances while I'm not here', didn't I?" Emma asked, no amusement in her tone as she heard another spray come from the extinguisher.

"I was only trying to have dinner ready for you. You deserve to have something nice after you work," Killian reasoned as the smoke detector finally stopped the loud alert sounds.

"I also deserve to have an apartment to come home to," Emma pointed out.

Stepping down from the chair, he held out the towel for her to take back. "Well, you can't fault me for trying, can you?"

Emma huffed and raised an eyebrow, grabbed him by the sleeve of his shirt and pulled him back to the kitchen. Pointing at the now charred stove, its door hanging slightly off the hinge, she gave him an exasperated look. "Considering how_ that_ went? Yes, I think I can."

Henry took the moment to speak up, smiling sheepishly in their direction. "It's the thought that counts?"

Emma whirled around, giving him the same look. "And you know better than to let him near things after the toaster fiasco."

"We were only trying to do something nice for you, Mom," Henry said in that sad puppy voice that always got to her, no matter how hard she tried to pretend it didn't.

She gaped at the use of it, turning back to Killian who had an equally sad puppy dog look on his face. She looked between the two of them multiple times, unable to believe that she'd let them double team her again before throwing down the towel on the counter. Sighing heavily, she gave them both half-hearted glares as she moved past them. "You're lucky I love the both of you."

Emma was pretty sure she heard the distinct sound of a high five from behind her.


	8. The Tree

The crunch of the snow beneath their feet floated up to Emma's ears through the cold winter air of Maine causing a smile to erupt on her face. She had never done this before, had never had the opportunity to do this before. She'd spent every holiday, except maybe the occasional one night stand on New Year's, alone. She had no real reason to celebrate, but now that things had finally calmed down and her life felt whole for once, she could.

"Come on guys! The good trees are up here!" Henry called ahead of them, jogging through the few inches of snow on the ground.

Killian laughed next to her, the sound even more beautiful than the crunching snow. "The lad's excited."

It was the Saturday after Thanksgiving, and Henry had wanted to put up a tree as soon as possible, but it was Emma that had suggested they get a real one. It was the first real time doing this, and she wanted to do it right. "I can relate," she said, leaning into his side for warmth and smiling up at him. "I've never done this before. It's exciting!"

Killian returned her smile before looking ahead, watching Henry was he moved from tree to tree, inspecting each one and moving on when he found the smallest thing wrong with it. He understood why it was so important to the two, even if he'd never really celebrated the holiday himself, surprised even that it crossed the realms to this land, but he finally had a reason to be cheerful during the season. "How does this work again, darling?"

Emma reached into her pocket, pulling the tiny flag out. "We look for a tree we want, tie the flag around it, and get one of the workers to cut it for us," she said, her eyes following Henry around before looking back at him. "Thank you for coming out with us today."

Killian shrugged, but leaned down nonetheless to press a kiss to her lips. "It was something important to you, and as you said at home, this is something a family does, and that's what you and Henry are, love."

It still floored Emma on occasion that she didn't have to search for insincerity or lies in his words, that everything he said to her was upfront and honest and full of love. She'd never known this kind of love before, the kind of love that was only found in fairytales. It was only fitting that she have that kind of love and that she met him in the land of happy endings. "Yeah, you are family," she said with a large smile. She stopped their walking, stepping up on her tiptoes, inching her face closer to his.

"Mom! Killian!" Henry yelled, running up to them, grabbing Emma's hand. "I found the perfect one!"

Emma laughed as Henry pulled her up the slight incline to the perfect tree sitting at the top of the hill, looking up at it with pride, the perfect fit for their living room. She could feel eyes on her, turning her head to see Killian looking at them with a look of pure love in his eyes. "Will you go find someone to cut it down?" She asked, wrapping her arm around Henry's shoulder.

"Aye, love. I can."


	9. tis the season

Emma stepped out onto the back porch, looking up at the sky as the snow continued to fall, wrapping her red coat around her more. A smiled crept up her lips as the laughter from inside filtered through the thin walls of her parents' house. It was Christmas Eve, and they had thrown a family dinner, not wanting the next day to bogged down with the stress of cooking and making sure everything was timed perfectly. Her smile grew wider at the effort her family was putting in to making this holiday the perfect first for all of them.

She heard the door creak open and was immediately hit by his unique scent of the sea. It mixed oddly well with the winter air and freshly fallen snow. She hadn't realized how cold she was until the solid heat of his chest was pressing against her back. His chin rested on her shoulder, thumbs absentmindedly rubbing circles through her coat over her stomach. "Penny for your thoughts, love?" He asked, pressing a soft kiss to her cheek.

"Are they only worth a penny?" Emma shot back, smirking to herself.

"Spent the rest of the money on gifts," he explained with a chuckle. He let the silence hang for a few moments, enjoying just holding her in his arms. Tilting his head, he watched her face, a calm over it that had escaped her for so long. "What is it?"

"I think I'm okay now," she finally said, a weight she hadn't really thought was there anymore fully lifting itself from her.

"We're you not well before?" Killian asked, a slight edge of worry in his voice.

Emma shook her head, turning in his hold to face him, wrapping her arms around his neck. "No. It's just…" She took a deep breath before looking up into his eyes, her fingers stroking the hair at the nape of his neck. "For most of my life, it's just been a terrible mess, one bad thing right after the other, and always being alone. After a while, I just started waiting for the other shoe to drop when something good happened, because I knew it couldn't last long. And today…" Emma smiled brightly at him, the light in her eyes shining brighter than ever. "I realized for the first time in my life, I wasn't waiting. I just enjoyed the happy times we've had this past month."

Killian's worry faded, his hand coming up to tuck a strand of hair under her hat. "You never have to worry about being alone or terrible messes again." His arms wrapped around her more, pulling her completely to him, forehead resting against hers with a smile. "You have Henry. You have your parents. You have me."

"I never thought I'd have any of this. I always thought I was meant to be alone."

"You never have to be alone again." Killian dipped his head, capturing her lips with his. Emma could feel everything he felt for her in it, and in that moment, she'd never felt more loved.


	10. Road Trip

As soon as the words left his lips, Emma almost slammed on the brakes in the middle of the road. They sounded so natural coming from him. "Listen to your mum, lad," he'd mumbled sternly but sleepily from his place in the front seat, like it was always meant to be said. He was trying to get some sleep, and Emma was urging Henry to do the same. Henry had been very obviously resisting, and she'd been surprised when Killian had butted in.

They'd left Storybrooke two hours before and had about six hours left to go before they reached New York, and Henry was desperately fighting sleep, saying he didn't want to miss anything, that he wasn't tired. Excuse after excuse was rattled off from the boy until the man to her right spoke those words.

Henry was quiet for a few moments, before mumbling an, "Okay," followed by a "Wake me when we stop." She heard him rustling around in the back before he settled, catching a glimpse of his still form in the backseat. It was moments like that, him sleeping in her backseat, that she couldn't regret giving him up. His first couple of years would've been in that backseat, and it was a much worse alternative to the love and lavishness he'd received from Regina.

A sigh from beside her broke her from her thoughts, and she glanced at Killian as he rested his head against the window, very obviously trying to get over his weariness of being in the vehicle. After his last run in with one, it didn't surprise her. "He likes you, you know?" Emma said quietly, a small smile on her lips. It definitely wasn't the worst thing she could think of, her son approving of the man vying her her affections - her love.

Killian stirred, his eyes flitting to her face, mirroring the smile he saw there before looking in the back of the car for a moment. Henry curled up in the seat, using his scarf as a makeshift pillow against the window. "Aye. I like him, too."

"Good," she replied, almost shyly, unwilling to look away from the road. Her eyes would betray her, she knew that much. "I think he might want you to stick around for a while." She tried to push away from her mind that she wasn't really talking about Henry, not entirely ready to deal with whatever it was between her and Killian. She suddenly wondered when he changed from Hook to Killian in her mind, never on her lips. At least not yet.

Maybe when all this was over, she could finally let that happen. Let it all happen.

The happy sigh was almost enough to make her look over at him, but she held firm, keeping her eyes on the highway. "Lucky for _him_, I don't plan on going anywhere. He's stuck with me."

As he let the words hang, he mumbled a sweet goodnight to her, settling back against the window. She knows she heard "my love" on his lips, and only when his breathing evened out did allow herself to look over at him. She realized that when it all died down, she could let it happen. After it all died down, after everyone was finally reunited, she could let herself be loved by Killian Jones. And if she tried hard enough…

She could love him, too.


	11. Nightly Talks

Emma didn't know when she actually awoke from her dream of driving down an endless road, but suddenly the rumble of the bug turned into a slightly quiet mumble. She didn't feel like moving, having been completely exhausted when she'd gone to bed that night, so she focused on the mumbling, trying to understand exactly what it was.

"…find out tomorrow," she finally deciphered. It was a quiet whisper, but her continually rousing consciousness catching more. "I want you to know that I don't care what you are. You can be a pirate prince or a Queen of the sea. I just need you to have ten fingers and ten toes. And love me more than your grandfather."

Emma could've started crying in that moment. She had heard Killian talk to her bump in her waking hours, but it was never like this. Usually, it was just loving statements and the occasionally cockiness.

"You know, I wouldn't tell your mother this, but it'll be our little secret," Killian whispered to the growing bump. "I'm scared, little one. I desperately want to be the father I never had, and I feel I've been a decent step father to Henry, but you're going to be this tiny human that I fear I might break."

She heard Killian sigh, and she desperately wanted to pull him to her and try to hug his fears away, but she didn't want to take this away from him. She bonded with their baby every day, and that's how he saw this. His bonding time with their growing child.

"But I know you'll be strong. I mean, look at your parents. Dashing pirate for a father and, excuse my language, your mother is what they call a badass princess. You'll be fine, right? I won't break you?"

Emma felt his fingers dance over her stomach, tickling her, but she passed it off as a twitch at his touch in her sleep. She was determined to hear everything he had to say.

"I know I need to be brave for your Mum. She's been exceedingly fantastic throughout all of this. I guess I shouldn't really be scared at all, not with her by my side. It's just that this is the biggest unknown I've ever faced. Bigger than the day I took up piracy." He chuckled as he placed a kiss to Emma's round belly. "If your Uncle Liam could see me now."

Emma smiled sadly in her sleep, knowing just how important his brother had been to him. She would give anything to have his brother back for the day she brought Killian's child into the world, and all the days after that.

"I know all the books say you can't really hear me but talking to you actually calms my nerves for a little while about the whole thing. Of course, now you're just about as big as my palm, but I like to think you can at least know that I'm your father, and that I love you very much. I've loved you since your mother told me you were coming," he said, kissing the side of her stomach. "I've loved you before you were even in here."

Killian laid his hand flat against her stomach, stroking the skin below her naval. "I'm getting tired, little one, but we'll continue this conversation tomorrow night, aye?" Emma was surprised when their child responded with a kick. She felt his lips one last time against her stomach before he moved back up, curling up next to her.

"I love you both, Emma Jones," he whispered into her hair as he curled his arm around her protectively. The last thing she felt before drifting back to sleep was their baby kicked against his hand once more, settling down again for the night.


	12. Christmas Cookies

Killian looked over at the recipe Snow had brought over once more, triple checking that he had followed it correctly. "Your mother is going to be very angry with us, darling," he said as he sprinkled flour on the counter that was already a mess. Some of the wet ingredients had been spilled, and the dry ones were clumping in the puddles.

"Won't be so mad when she has cookies," Elise said happily, her feet bouncing on the chair next to him. She had wanted to make cookies for Emma because 'Mommy needs her own cookies' instead of sharing the batch that had been made for Santa the day prior. Those had been prepackaged and easy to make. But that wouldn't be good enough for Emma.

"Food might work on her if she were with child," Killian said as he grabbed the bowl with the dough, mixing the contents a few more times before putting some on the flour coated countertop.

"I'm a child," Elise said simply, standing closer to him and watching him roll out the dough. While he was doing that, she began to arrange the cookie cutters Snow had provided as well in the order she wanted to use them. Everything had to be perfect for her mother's cookies. "And she's with me a lot."

"Not the same thing, sweetheart. Maybe we'll have that discussion one day," he said, leaning down to kiss the top of her head. He looked down at the plane of slightly yellowed pastry before them, and he was actually impressed with how it had turned out. "Now, would you like to cut the first cookie?"

Elise giggled excitedly, picking up the cookie cutter that was shaped like a heart and pressing it into the dough. When she pulled it free, she handed the dough to her father, who placed it on the cookie sheet for her. The next cutter she used was a Christmas tree, followed by mistletoe and a present with a bow on top.

It warmed Killian's heart to watch his daughter smile, a smile that seemed to brighten with every passing second as she continued to cut out pieces of dough. Each time they ran out of space, Elise would insist on rolling the dough back out to fill the holes. She always wanted to do as much as she could on her own, an independent spirit just like her mother and father. She rarely allowed her parents to dress her, hated that she wasn't allowed to use the 'grown up tools' that made food by herself.

When they finally came down to a single patch that wasn't enough to cut, Killian shaped it into a smiley face, receiving one from Elise as he did. She opened the oven for him, and Killian slid the cookie sheets in.

After setting the timer, they watched the cookies inside for a few moments, smiling at their handiwork before Killian turned back to the kitchen, and he couldn't help but laugh.

The laugh caught his daughter's attention who stared up at him in question. "What is it, daddy?" She asked, the happiness still in her voice.

Killian walked over to the counter, leaning back against it with his hand behind him, a glint of mischief in his eyes. "Well, darling. The kitchen is a right bloody mess," he said, glancing at the clock on the wall. "And there is absolutely no way we'll have it clean by the time your Mum gets home."

"Won't be mad with cookies," she reminded him in a sing song voice. She noticed her father's arms moving behind him slightly and she squinted.

"You know… You have a little something right…" Killian trailed off, bringing his arm back around and flinging a bit of flour that landed right across her shirt. "There."

Elise gasped before she looked down and started giggling. Without a word, she charged forward, jumping into Killian's arms and trying to reach over him to get the flour. She managed to get some in her tiny palm, sprinkling it over top of his head. After she had finished, he shook his hair much like a dog would, flinging the white substance in every direction, eliciting a louder giggle from the girl in his arms.

As more flour sailed through the air, they both ended up rolling in the floor, coating themselves in more of it until they were both tinted lighter.

Killian had just pulled her into his side against the lower cabinets when they heard the front door open and footsteps head toward them. He knew the incessant laughing from the two of them would attract her to them immediately, and as soon as she entered the kitchen, she stopped dead in her tracks, causing their laughter to wane back to chuckling.

Opening and closing her mouth a couple of times, Emma's eyes darted between the two sitting on the floor. "What…in the world…did the two of you do?" Emma asked, letting her eyes roam around the room once more, taking in the giant mess.

Just as the two of them opened their mouths, the timer went off in the oven and Elise shot to her feet, bouncing up and down excitedly. "We made cookies for you, Mommy!"

"Yes, Mommy!" Killian said happily, trying not to chuckle at her expression. "We made cookies." Standing up, he walked up to Emma, leaning down to kiss her. When she started to lean in, he began rubbing the flour that coated his face all over hers despite her protests before she began to laugh along with him. It was moments like that that he could get lost in, moments that made everything before it fade away. All the good replaced the bad in that one single moment.

The only thing that pulled him out of it and made him stop was a small tug on his hand and a sweet voice filling his ear with a, "Daddy, you have to get them out! They're gonna burn!"


End file.
